VietJet CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao apologized Monday over an "impromptu celebration" for the young players, who secured a historic second place at the Asian Football Confederation U23 Championship under the leadership of Korean manager Park Hang-seo.

This came after photos of the flight attendants were leaked to social media, where many people criticized the company for the "cheap" marketing move.

Park and the players were on the flight to Hanoi from China, where they suffered a 1-2 loss to Uzbekistan in the championship final match.

Local media reported that social media erupted over the photos showing players' embarrassed faces. "Vietjet's move was so rude, cheap, and offensive to the team, the fans and even its passengers," Facebook user Nguyen My Linh was quoted as saying.